The Directors

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

After the unexpected success of our first documentary “Suddenly Last Winter” (Special Jury Mention Berlinale 2008, Nastro d’Argento 2009 and featured in more that 200 festivals worldwide) we knew that if we were ever to make another film together it would have to be
about something that touched us personally and that we felt was urgent. At the end of 2009, when we wrote a treatment to take part in the Documentary Campus Master School (a European programme for the development of documentaries which selects 15 projects a year
from anywhere around the world and provides training and guidance towards making the projects a reality) our starting point was what was happening in our lives at that moment: we were moving out of our flat in Rome and thinking seriously about going abroad as so many of
our friends have in recent years. The reasons to leave Italy, especially for people of our generation, are many, and this isn’t the place to go into them. But it’s also true that we have a tendency in Italy to complain bitterly about our country without ever rolling up our sleeves and trying to do something about changing it. When we took our first film to festivals around the country, and were hosted by art house cinemas and cultural associations, libraries and civic organisations, we became aware of what appeared to be a hidden or unknown Italy, that doesn’t
emerge on television or in newspapers. It seems to us that this is the best Italy, made up of people who fight daily to make this country a better place, despite the political class that misgoverns it. We wanted to render it justice by giving at least a part of it the chance to express itself with its own voice.

Gustav Hofer

Gustav Hofer, born in 09.05.1976 in Sarnthein (South Tyrol, Italy). After his studies in Communication Science at the University of Vienna and
Cinema at the Middlesex University in London, he moved to Rome.
He works as a free-lance journalist and independent filmmaker. For the French-German television „Arte” he presents the program “Artejournal”
and for the same program he works as correspondent from Italy.
Filmography: Suddenly, Last Winter ( 2008 – over 200 festivals and 20 awards) – Men for all Seasons, 2005 (50’) Korea Prioritaria, 2002, (45’)

Luca Ragazzi

Luca Ragazzi, born in 20.02.1971 in Rome, graduated in Literature and Philosophy at the University La Sapienza of Rome. Journalist, film critic and photographer. Suddenly, Last Winter” was his first Film as a director.